Venue: Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space
Date: 7 October 2013
Music Director: James Holmes
Director: Richard Jay-Alexander
Event Page
Some of Broadway’s best will take the stage at New York’s Symphony Space on 7 October 2013 to celebrate the American music of Kurt Weill. Hosted by Ted Chapin, the evening will highlight songs from Venus as well as favorites from other Weill shows, including Street Scene, Lady in the Dark, Love Life, Lost in the Stars, Knickerbocker Holiday, The Threepenny Opera, and Happy End. The starry cast features Melissa Errico, Brent Barrett, Judy Blazer, and Ron Raines alongside Lotte Lenya Competition winners Richard Todd Adams, Douglas Carpenter, Cooper Grodin, Justin Hopkins, Zachary James, Analisa Leaming, Jacob Keith Watson, and Maren Weinberger. Weill specialist James Holmes, who conducted a fully staged production of Venus at England’s Opera North in 2004, music directs, and Richard Jay-Alexander directs.
Errico, Barrett, and Raines are featured singers in a complete recording of Venus that will be released on Jay Records. Click here for an audio clip from Errico’s rendition of “I’m a Stranger Here Myself.” As of October 7, the complete recording is available on iTunes, with the 2-CD set to follow.
One Touch of Venus opened on Broadway 7 October 1943 and became Weill’s longest-running show. Not coincidentally, it made Mary Martin a Broadway star and set the stage for her storied career. With Weill’s lush score full of standards (including “Speak Low”) matched with witty, urbane lyrics by Ogden Nash and a risqué yet classy book by Nash and legendary humorist S.J. Perelman, One Touch of Venus continues to charm critics and audiences. The Times of London called it “a musical of genuine sparkle and beauty” in 2005, while Opera News described it as “a delight. Anyone looking for a sophisticated musical to revive, with a classy script and an equally classy score, need look no further.”
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Top row, left to right: Melissa Errico, Brent Barrett, Judy Blazer, Ron Raines
Middle row, left to right: Richard Todd Adams, Douglas Carpenter, Cooper Grodin, Justin Hopkins
Bottom row, left to right: Zachary James, Analisa Leaming, Jacob Keith Watson, Maren Weinberger
Reviews
Features
Information about forthcoming recording
Press release from Symphony Space
Learn more about One Touch of Venus
